Page 74

Even if that was hard to believe.

Biting the inside of my cheek, I confessed. “I knew them when I was younger. We met in one of the foster homes I lived in.”

“No shit.” Lola leaned forward on her elbows, her eyes flicking over to check on Chrissy in the playground.

The next part fell from my lips before I could stop the words. “And I might be catching feelings.”

“No fucking way. Which one?” Lola was scandalized, her jaw nearly unhinged.

I buried my head in my hands. “All of them?” But I popped up and held up my hand. “Not the rich one. She’s a fucking bitch and can go fuck herself.”

“Right, duh.” Immediately on board, Lola was playing catch up. “Sounds like she owes you an apology.”

“You have no idea.”

Snapping, Lola shook her head. “Demand one, then.”

“What?”

“If she really fucked up that bad, stop pussyfooting around it and tell her to apologize.”

She was right. Never in my life had I been the type to sit quietly and take abuse… not since my days at Heirs of Promise. And if I wanted Cyrus’ behavior to change, I needed to be clear about that.

Blade and Nash had both managed to take accountability for how they’d hurt me.

Cyrus wasn’t special.

Well, she was. But I wasn’t ready to admit that, especially not to Lola.

Sucking in a deep breath, I groaned. “You’re right. I should.”

“I know that’s right.” Lola laughed as she plucked another fry into her mouth, polishing off the tray of food. Her face turned dark as she looked back at the drugged out patrons around us. “Just promise me you’ll be careful.”

Nodding, I smiled. “I will be. I need to be around for Chrissy. And you, make sure you don’t end up dating some douchebag when you’re ready to get back out there.”

“Hey, dumb Travis is always available.” Lola teased, the thought alone enough to make her vomit.

She’d been single for years, making sure to prioritize her baby over everything else — even while her fuckhead ex was out losing his jobs and evading child support.

As we stood up, scooping up our tray of food and dumping it in the massive steel trash cans, Lola grabbed my arm and looked deep into my eyes. “Thank you for talking to me. I like knowing what’s going on with you.”

A smile crept to the corners of my lips. “Thanks, Lola. It means a lot.”

Hollering across the parking lot, Lola summoned Chrissy off the playground. She was a sweet kid, doing as she was asked.

I leaned down and wrapped her in a tight hug. “Bye, sweetie. I’ll come see you soon, okay?”

Chrissy nodded and ran off toward their beat up sedan. Before chasing after her wild child, Lola gave me a hug and said her goodbyes. “Do you need a ride?”

“Nope, one of the Freaks should come grab me.” I shook my head.

“The Freaks? Endearing?” Laughing, Lola jogged toward the car.

From the picnic area, I watched Lola strap her daughter into the car seat of their gray 2003 Nissan Sentra. Lola raised her hand one more time before ducking into the car and driving off.

Leaning against an empty table, I prepared to wait for a while. I shot off a text to the group chat:

Ready for pickup whenever.